Theme versus Moral

What are themes not?

Themes need not instruct the reader how to live their life nor do they need to put forth how life should function. No. Themes, instead, are often general observations about human behavior, the world, or a specific part of the world. They reveal how life is. This is my version of that quote back in the textbook. "The responsive readers asks not, "What does this story teach?", but "What does this story believe?"

What is a good question to ask the text?

"What does this story believe?" seems amenable with the "implied author" concept. Reveal implies a story automatically shows something true like it's some bible. No. No it isn't. Stories are written by humans who hold unconscious biases against minorities and women. Implicit bias -- it's like, basic CRT. So it's best to reframe a story's theme as a "belief" (an idea!) rather than a "truth".

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